How to Organize Your Contact List

How to Organize Your Contact List

Is your contact list a mess? We are here to help you organize it.

For Apple

If you have Apple products then you should be using Apple’s built-in Contacts app, which syncs all your information across both platforms. When you’re on another type of device, you can still access your contacts through a web browser by going to the iCloud site. If you’re looking for advanced organization options.

On iOS, you can edit an entry by selecting it and choosing Edit. The next screen lets you add, remove, and change your contact’s information, or remove a person entirely by tapping Delete Contact. To change how this information is sorted and displayed, go to the iOS Settings app and select Contacts from the list. From there you can click on the Prefer Nicknames and change it to either formal contacts or personal contacts.

The macOS version has similar options. Open Contacts and select File > New Smart Group. Then pick your criteria: You might group people such as co-workers, friends, or family. To email everyone in a group at once, go to the left-hand navigation menu to find the group’s entry then right-click on it. On macOS, you can also find duplicated contacts and merge them. Select Card > Look for Duplicates. If any duplicates exist, it will ask whether you want to merge them.

It is easier if you manage your contacts on a computer Because the macOS version has more options. Once you make any changes they will sync to the iOS app.

Google

If you use Google, you can access your contacts online or through an official Android app. Alternately, you can import your Google contacts into iOS: Go to iOS Settings > Accounts & Passwords > Add Account > Google.

Google has a great duplicates finder for contacts. Simply visit the web interface, click Duplicates on the left side of the page, and then choose which duplicated contacts you’d like to combine and click the Merge button next to them. If the duplicate you’re considering doesn’t show up, simply find any duplicates, tick the boxes next to them, and click the Merge button in the top right corner.

The Android app is even smarter at managing your contacts. Hit the menu button on the top left, choose Suggestions, and Google will suggest duplicates to merge. It will also look at people you’re often in touch with via phone and recommend that you add them as new contacts.

Using multiple contacts apps with Apple

If you use multiple contact apps Apple lets you display your Google and Microsoft accounts on its contacts apps. On iOS, go to Settings > Accounts & Passwords > Add Account, and then hit either Google or Outlook.com. On macOS, open the Contacts app and choose Contacts > Add Account, followed by Google or Outlook.com. This lets you access and edit your Google or Microsoft contacts from Apple devices, and have the changes sync to the original accounts. However, it doesn’t merge these contacts with your Apple account, so you might end up with duplicates that you cannot merge. Plus, if you try to access your contacts through the iCloud website, only Apple contacts will show up.

Using Microsoft

The People app for Windows 10 also supports multiple accounts. Click the cog icon on the lower left, then Add an account, and choose either Google or iCloud. Like with Apple, the newly imported contacts appear alongside your existing ones, but they won’t get added to your official Microsoft contact list.

Using Google

Google doesn’t let you manage and sync your Apple or Microsoft contacts. However, you can import these contacts and turn them into Google contacts—but any changes you make after that will not sync to the original accounts.

If you have a ton of contacts in your phone you can hide them easily

On iOS, go to Settings > Privacy > Contacts.
In the Google Contacts app for Android, tap the menu button on the top left and choose Settings > Accounts and make the appropriate changes.

Keeping your contacts organized is difficult enough, but syncing them across multiple platforms can be even more frustrating. FullContact is a great third party app that will sync up to 25,000 of your contacts across five platforms, including the Apple, Google, and Microsoft services. The price for this service is $100 a year.

There’s no easy way to organize your contacts across every platform, it takes time and effort. But its worth having a nice clean contact list that you don’t have to scroll through to find who you are looking for.